Calls to Women’s Aid increase by 41 per cent during pandemic

There was a 41 per cent increase in the number of calls to Women’s Aid during the Covid-19 pandemic, compared with the same period last year.

The latest figures from the domestic violence charity’s 24-hour helpline show there were 17,729 calls between March 23rd until the end of November, up from 12,506 calls over the same time frame in 2019.

Sarah Benson, chief executive of Women's Aid, said it is concerned that if there is another lockdown in January it may deter victims from getting in touch after the Christmas period, when there is traditionally an increase in calls.

Ms Benson said its helpline received calls from women in recent months who phoned them from “their garden sheds, their cars and turned on the shower to mask the conversation”.

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“Usually after Christmas, people go back to work and the kids go back to school and it creates that breathing space for taking the opportunity to reach out for support,” Ms Benson told The Irish Times.

“But if we go into a serious lockdown again after Christmas, we worry a bit that the opportunity for victims of domestic abuse to speak out or get protection through the courts or find ways out of the situation may be even more constrained than previous years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Ms Benson said the charity has consistently seen an uptake in calls following Christmas as women try to “keep the peace” over the festive period.

“This is a trend that has been consistent, which is, women will really do their utmost, particularly if there’s children, just to try and get through Christmas. They’ll do it for the sake of the children, they’ll try and manage their safety in as much as you can,” she said.

“That has a terrible toll and often the week after Christmas or New Year’s we will see an uptake not just in the calls but also the stories from over Christmas as to just how hard it was and the tactics that were used, such as withholding money, emotional abusive tactics, manipulating the children.”

One in four

One in four women in Ireland who have been in a relationship have been abused by a current or former partner, according to Women's Aid.

“The vast majority of those who suffer domestic violence and abuse will never actually reach out to a specialist support organisation. So we know even those increased numbers [in calls] actually reflect the tip of the iceberg,” Ms Benson added.

“Even though we have these significantly increased numbers, at the same time we would always be calling on community vigilance, family and friends to be mindful of looking for and reaching out to anybody they are worried about who might be in a difficult situation.”

Women’s Aid’s 24-hour national freephone will continue to take calls on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day on 1800 341900.